Michelle Obama's London Talk Sold Out In Minutes & Twitter Has Lost It

Michelle Obama is loved and celebrated the world over, so the frenzy surrounding her upcoming memoir, Becoming, is no surprise. But no one could have predicted just how much public interest there'd be in catching an IRL glimpse of the former first lady in London.

Tickets to a talk with Obama and award-winning novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie at London's Royal Festival Hall next month sold out within minutes this morning, with people on social media saying there were more than 60,000 people ahead of them in the queue.

Obama will be appearing at the 2,900-seat venue to discuss her memoir, in which she recounts her experiences of childhood, motherhood, her eight years living "at the world's most famous address", and the life lessons she's gleaned along the way.

Tickets have been spotted for sale on the controversial online marketplace Viagogo for more than £70k – more than 570 times their face value, the Guardian reported. A spokesperson for the Southbank Centre said it had asked the site to remove the tickets, but they were still available on Thursday afternoon.

After setting up multiple devices and rallying the troops to no avail, thousands of fans were understandably disappointed to have missed out. But at least they were good-humoured about it on social media.

While others, once they realised all hope was lost, decided to take desperate measures, calling on white people with tickets to "cure racism" by giving them up, and some even putting in a word with the former president himself.